Men Making a Scene

In "Men Making a Scene," Sara Cohen writes about and examines the indie rock scene in Liverpool--how it is predominantly male (as is rock and roll) and how certain aspects of "the scene" perpetuate this situation. She writes about how men in bands already have a close community, equipped with jargon and personal jokes, making it difficult for anyone, especially women, to "infiltrate." She also expresses the concern that most venues are in dangerous, dirty places where women would not want to venture. However, she doesn't examine why women aren't typically in the bands themselves--does this have to do with how people learn to play their instruments/ who they would learn from? Is this just because people often create bands with their friends, or is there also a greater tendency for men to want to play rock instruments?

Also, she writes about how musical themes of men feeling lost, confused, or betrayed are often portrayed in many types of rock, and there is often an image of men being seduced by women. This music style gives these men a softer type of masculinity--however, if a woman were to write a song about being seduced by a man, it wouldn't be any type of femininity, but a mistake or a moment of weakness. Are there any examples in which a woman is able to express a "soft femininity" through rock songs? Is that pointless because femininity is supposed to be inherently "soft?" If so, how can women express "harder" femininity in rock and roll? Riot Grrl?